The Marina Menagerie

Dec 29, 2018

This morning James and I were walking up the dock toward shore and Jacob, who works here at Marina de La Paz on boats, stopped us to point in awe at an enormous jellyfish that was bobbing about in the shallow water leading to the ramp where folks can lower boats they bring in by trailer. I only managed a quick snap, but it was a good 18" (46cm) across, and absolutely beautiful. It was pulsing away softly, and held us all spellbound for several minutes.

The water here in the marina is teeming with fish. I recognize several most-common types, which in my inner world are: the teeny tiny fish, perhaps 1" (2.5cm) long and the little fish, about 2-3" (7-7.5cm) long, swim in schools. There are some gorgeous flattish blue and yellow fish, about the size of my palm, that are all over all the time. And then there are the looping fish. The looping fish are grey, with pale, round mouths, maybe 14" (35cm) long. They loop by day, they loop by night.

There is also a crane who hangs out a whole lot on the docks. One of our neighbors says he's been around for at least two years.

I love that living on a boat, even at dock, is so intimate with nature. The shot at the head of this post is the marina next door; we were visiting friends and this Black Crowned Night Heron was sitting and watching the fish that were drawn to the light against the dock – large, pale fish that I've seen each time we've visited friends there, and haven't seen in our marina. I'm so excited for what we'll find when we venture up into the Gulf of California this spring!